Sunday, August 16, 2009

A few weeks ago, a friend texted me out of the blueand asked if I realized that Mia might already be born.Or at the very least someone on this planet is pregnant with her.That gave me goosebumps because I'd been feeling it lately, too.Not just imagining it.Not just rationalizing about the timingbecause of guesses when a referral might come.But truly a feeling.Something within me telling me that she is here.She is present on this Earth.But I think she is still in the womb of a woman in China ....who I think of often and pray for daily.Only time will tell if I'm right.

Saturday, August 08, 2009

Another blog slacker here. Almost a week with no new posts. I think it's just a sign of summer and how busy everyone has been. Me included. Cuz I see a lack of posting all over the blogosphere these days. Maybe when we're all homebodies this winter that will pick up again. But for now a few things going on in my life.....

I went Friday to get re-fingerprinted for the 3rd time. My I-171H expired on July 25 so I sent my new application in last month. For my non-adoption schooled friends and family.... it's just immigration stuff. Basically it's purpose is so that Mia will be a US citizen as soon as I bring her home. But the form expires after 18 mths and the fingerprints required as part of the process are only good for 15 mths.

Make sense? Nope... not to me either. LOL! Because my prints somehow change over time? Or maybe USCIS just wants more of my money? Hmmm... you decide. Anyway, I'm now on my 3rd renewal and I pray to God my last! I'm a little worried I may have to be re-fingerprinted again before I travel to get Mia. We'll just have to wait and see how fast China moves me ahead in line over the next year. So in honor of 3 word Sunday ...... Speaking of traveling to get Mia.... for anyone who follows the numbers in China adoption, you'll know we're up to March 22nd, 2006. Which means there are 84 days ahead of me waiting to be matched before my turn comes up. In all of 2008, China matched like 76 days... or something close to that. Using that math... I'd have a little more than a year left in my wait.

There's also a way to play with that guesstimate by using the polls on RQ to get an idea of just how many files are being matched on those days. It's confusing to try to explain to someone not plugged in to the whole adoption community. So to make a long, complicated story short..... after the last referral batch I did the number crunching based on those polls.... and I came up with June 2010!!!

That's crazy! I've been expecting late 2010 for awhile now. So to see that there is a small possibility it could be next summer... Holy Crap! Either way you figure it.... we're talking another year... plus or minus a few months. Holy Crap!!!!

The thought of that brought on a major freak out. I mean, it's not like I haven't had the last 3 yrs to get ready for the possibility of a baby in my life, right? But I have so much to do!! And a year is gonna fly by. There are projects that need to be done, books that need to be read, weight that needs to be lost, baby stuff to get... high chairs, car seats..... OMG!

Wait. Calm down. Breathe. I'm okay... really. LOL!

I've been on fire lately thanks to that "freak out" motivation! Cuz let me tell you... I'm lazy at heart. And add to that my supreme ability to procrastinate which means I'm usually in the middle of a million unfinished projects. But something has shifted in me. I'm actually starting to believe I'm gonna have a baby in the next year or so! I really think I am.

And I'm having a hard time sitting still. I feel like PIPO! I need to accomplish at least one project every weekend. Even if I don't finish it... every weekend has to have some time devoted to accomplishing things on my "To Do List". Or else I feel tremendous guilt.

Now for those that know me, you know of my great passion for spending an entire weekend in my pajamas, comatose in front of the TV, wasting time on the computer, gabbing on the phone, or reading a book. I'm a master at selfish pleasure all while watching the laundry and dirty dishes pile up. LOL! But not anymore. The "Oh my gawd I'm gonna have a baby freak out" is on..... and it's all good.

One now finished project was to get the nursery painted. I still need to do the closet door. But I'll get to it eventually. The important work is done.... ceiling, trim, baseboards and 3 freakin' coats of apple green wall color. I know! Can you believe it?! I have no idea why rolling that color onto a white wall would have required 3 coats for good, even coverage ... but it did. I don't want to see another paint brush for awhile! And yes... it's slightly brighter in photos than in real life. Don't panic. While spending so much time in the room painting it, I decided to get rid of the carpet and go with wood. Dripping paint on the floor may have also helped in that decision. LOL! So my mom ripped up a corner of the carpet and we were excited to see a pretty good looking wood floor underneath. Or so I thought. I had a professional re-finisher give me an estimate and he informed me that the wood is too soft to sand and a very low quality. So I've decided to just throw a laminate floor over top of it. It'll look like wood, be way less expensive, more durable than what I have now and no dusty, chemical mess. So that is my next project.... carpet rip out.

Monday, August 03, 2009

The fundraiser ends August 9th. Kris is only just a little past halfway to her goal. If you have a little extra, she could really use it. Especially since she just got Travel Approval today!! Woo hoo! But that means she'll soon be on her way to bring Ellis Gao Mei home. The prizes in the raffle are fabulous. So get on over there and help out a very deserving family.

Sunday, August 02, 2009

Pug Mama has revived her 3 word Sunday project.Go here to read what it's all about and how to participate.One of my latest projects was to have the deck re-stained. Well, once the deck was all refreshed I realized just how pathetic my deck furniture looked. Solution? Buy new furniture? Hellz no!! Get out the spray paint!

Spray paint is the thrifty chick's answer to just about everything. LOL! You're probably surprised to hear the furniture was actually the hunter green color when I bought it. But 5 yrs of sitting outside and they were a gray rusted out mess. I think I'll also be investing in some of those plastic cover thingys... or maybe just getting my lazy self to put it all in the garage over the winter.

I was going to give y'all a shot of the completely finished project but it's raining. So I dug up this pic from a few years ago. Just imagine the deck with a nice new dark stain and the furniture all shiny hunter green. LOL!

Saturday, August 01, 2009

Thanks for all the comments and e-mails of support. The pep talks and prayers helped. They really did. The bottom line is ... I just needed to get away from work for a few days. I've already seen a major improvement in my attitude because of it.

Thursday I slept late and caught up on some much needed sleep. That afternoon I went and got a 90 minute massage. That was absolutely heavenly! I knew it'd take me awhile to relax which is why I chose the long one. And I was right. I was pretty freakin' tense. But I left there feeling fabulous. And the headache I'd had for the last 4 days was gone. Gone!

I stopped and grabbed some really good pizza on the way home. Then I slipped into my favorite pair of sweatpants, enjoyed my pizza and poured myself a rum and Coke. It started pouring down rain so Griffey and I went out on the porch and sat in my oh-so-comfortable new patio chairs (yes they came already and no you don't get pictures until the porch is finished).

We just sat there watching the rain. It felt so wonderful to just sit and be quiet and clear my head. In fact, my head was so clear, my body was so relaxed from the massage, and my tummy was so nice and full of delicious pizza .... that I dozed off sitting there listening to the rain. Oh... the rum may have helped a bit, too. LOL! But all in all... it was a perfect day! Exactly what I needed. Some alone time and simply just pure relaxation.

Yesterday, I ran a few errands and then ended the day with a friend at my favorite mexican restaurant and enjoyed *ahem* several margaritas. ;) I have some projects planned for the rest of the weekend and by Monday, I'll be good as new and ready to face the world again.

Just for the record, I have no plans to leave my job. I do love it. Most days anyway. LOL! And I have a lot of years invested so I would never move to another department and start over. It's just that sometimes things weigh heavy on my heart. I've learned over the years that when those times come I need to step away. Even if like now... it's just for a few days. If it weren't for the inner turmoil going on within the department right now, I don't think things would be so hard. But it is what it is. It's not going away anytime soon. So I have to suck it up and just deal with it.